My first big art competition

"Down Into the Hoodoos" is done. Once you copy it to CD, mail it off to a competition, there is no changing it! So, this is done, and this is my final answer! I'm happy with it, and proud enough of it to enter it in my first major pastel competition. Wish me luck!

Down Into the Hoodoos, Bryce Canyon

Well, here I am, down to the wire, four days to go...and, wait! It looks like I may have something to enter the Pastel Society of the West Coast's annual show. I picked a different view of the Hoodoos to paint. I'm painting for the first time ever on an Ampersand Pastel Bord (more expensive than papers). I started by enlarging the picture freehand on a sketchpad. Then transferring the linear design to the board. Next, I experimented with the local colors on my sketchbook design. The next step was to block in the underpainting with pastel. I now like to have different hues of colors in my underpainting - not monochromatic. Then, a brushed-on wash of turpenoid to dilute and spread around the pastel (like watercolor). Lately, I've been adding one more layer of darks, and a second turp wash. This is because my first attempt just doesn't get enough dark in the most important places. Lastly, I go at it with pastel. In this painting I'm working from top to bottom. I took a lot of pictures at each step. Now, again, I am at that point where I could get excited, rush, and MESS UP. So I forced myself to do something else. I'm going to put this aside until tomorrow to do the finishing touches, save it to disk, and send it on with my entry!